May 30, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
With the plethora of technological choices available today, as well as, the constant churning of new offerings, is it any wonder that attendees and exhibitors alike yearn for the "shiny new penny"? While renting technology for technology's sake is not a good idea, the important thing is to understand what your meeting participants want to use and how they will use said technology. Once the technology needs are established, if you don't have enough bandwidth to support the ap...

May 28, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
About 600 meeting planners took part in a Meetings Focus Trends survey that concentrated on what planners anticipated to be some of the forthcoming issues in 2014 and beyond.  Below is a 40,000 foot view of the survey results and a few thoughts and ideas of ways to overcome some of these real-life event planning challenges. Here are the questions and answers:  What will be your biggest challenge when planning meetings in the coming year?   41% said Increasing Costs 27%...

May 22, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Let's face it: Whether you like it or not, attendees are creating content about your meeting or event. The good, the bad and the ugly. But rather than trying to hold your attendees down or back -- why not let their commentaries, along with your own, add to the value of your meeting? Julius Solaris, Editor of the Event Manager Blog, recently wrote a post about ways event planning is changing. Below are a few of his thoughts, along with mine, on how audio visual equipment can assist in your ...

May 20, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Jim Spellos,Owner of Meeting U., recently spoke to Michael Pinchera, Editor of The Meeting Professional about future technology trends and challenges for both meetings and their planners. Below is a synopsis of the article, along with a few definitions and my own thoughts about what Jim had to say.  3 Tech Trends That Are Evolving Spellos believes,when event planning, you should be on the lookout for the following technologies:  Augmented Reality (AR) is a live direct or indi...

May 16, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
What is Google Glass and how is it applicable in the meetings industry? Glass is a wearable technology that goes over a user's right eye and allows them to do pretty much everything they would on a computer or smartphone including web searches, answer phone calls, and complete video recordings. It is integrated with Google+, GMail and other apps.  Here is a brief video of what Glass looks like:  Below are 8 great uses of Glass by meeting professionals that are using this techno...

May 14, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
At the Global Pharmaceutical and Medical Meetings Summit last February, Compliant Venues Ltd., outlined 10 global trends they see that will affect healthcare meetings and events. What I find interesting about these trends is they are not going to just resonate in the healthcare field; but in the entire industry as a whole.  I have plucked out 5 of the 10 for today's blog post and how they apply in event planning efforts for future meetings.  Global Trend #1: Hybrid me...

May 12, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
"What did you say?" Think about your exhibit hall...what words come to mind? How about noisy, busy and hard to hear? But what if you and your exhibitors could deliver your messages in a quiet atmosphere - albeit, still on that noisy floor? Impossible you say? Not really! Below are two examples of doing just that: The first is using wireless headsets (think museum exhibits) and the other is called a sound shower where conversations are encapsulated in a "dome" to ensure background noise is ...

May 08, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Every attendee, exhibitor, speaker and sponsor has a secret goal when they come to your meeting or conference: They want to meet the client of their dreams. The million dollar prospect that signs the multi-year contract. Barring that, someone who will lead them to more and more business.  However, most of the time, they are sorely disappointed. Why? Because they spends 70-80% of the time talking about themselves. Their products. Their service offerings. Their benefits.  ...

May 06, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Two organizations, Cvent and the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU) recently spoke to PCMA about their experiences with mobile apps and how they are improving the user experience over time. Below is a synopsis what mobile means to each organization and how you can use these findings to integrate mobile into your next meeting. CVENT "(Mobile is) about making it as easy as possible for attendees to engage with each other, or your speakers, or your staff or your sponsors. It's so m...

May 02, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
  Your organization has decided to hold an off-site meeting and you are in charge. Whether it is a local meeting in a hotel or a large convention several hundred miles away, you still need to vet the location and make certain the venue will work, especially for your meeting participants. But where do you start? Here is a quick listing of the things to keep in mind when selecting a destination and meeting space. EVENT PLANNER CHECKLIST Take a hard look at the location. If you ar...